


Whisky & Old Mattresses

by orphan_account



Category: Eerie Indiana
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Kinda, M/M, Mega Voodoo Eerie Weirdness, Mentions of Murder, Slow Burn, dash likes boys, mars likes both, marshall and dash haven't got assigned sexualities
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:28:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24885349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Marshall and Dash are almost legal adults, Simon's trying to find ways of keeping Marshall in Eerie & Melanie and Janet are back. Throw in a kiss, attempted murder, far too many questions and the choice to stay with his best friend or go to college; Marshall's overwhelmed. And things are only going to get worse.
Relationships: Marshall Teller/Dash X
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7





	Whisky & Old Mattresses

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first actual fic, so please bare with me, haha. It's going to be fairly slow burn, angsty and so much more.
> 
> fic soundtrack/inspiration playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzBKp0KYlxDfh-VXxLYSYv1lwedT4miz6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dash says he's planning on cleaning himself and his 'act' up. Will Marshall believe him, though?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- updated: 25/06/20  
> \- updated: 09/07/20  
> \- as my first actual fic, chapter's could vary quite a bit. i'm going to try and keep longer than this chapter, though. i find It quite hard starting off, but with added practice, i should get better.  
> \- constructive critcism is highley encoraged.

The year was 1994. Things were really starting to take off for Marshall and Simon. On top of this, it was getting dangerously close to Simon’s 14th birthday- though, it was something the younger of the two was certainly less enthusiastic about than the older. Dash X, continuing to (much to Marshall’s alleged detestment) associate himself with the two “weirdness-seekers”, had been quite frequently hanging around at the Teller’s house along with the two boys whenever Edgar and Marilyn weren’t home.

It had been a Tuesday, early hours of the morning, when Marshall woke up to the sound of birds chirping outside. “Ugh.” The teen let out a frustrated grunt as he pulled his sheets from where they were shielding his legs and, in one swift movement, stood up, wondering over to his closet. The brunette had been finding It difficult to get back into the habit of a more stable sleeping routine, partially due to his and Simon’s frequent late night ventures to various different properties and haunted locations- the other reason factoring into, what Marshall could only describe as a punishment from Eerie’s gods of weirdness, was that he’d been hanging around Dash a lot more; something that, although a choice, was arguably quite exhausting.

Marshall snatched up a pair of faded navy jeans, generic socks and a short-sleeved button up, making his way over to the bathroom, closing the door slowly as to not disturb his sister. Simon hadn’t been staying over that night, saying that his parents had gotten quite mad the last time that they’d snook out late, to which Marshall had attempted to detest, however the doubtful look, one he was sure would be a sarcastic ‘sure’ If spoken out loud, was enough for the older teen to bow his head, letting out a short huff of breath, giving up on his argument.

It wasn’t until later that morning that Marshall saw his trusted weird-watcher sidekick. It wasn’t long until they then began to make their way over to the World O’ Stuff, Simon smiling upon seeing a surprisingly... cheery Dash X. Deciding that the boy must’ve done something dangerous to be so happy, Marshall provided a snarky “Who’d you kill to be smiling so much on a Tuesday?” However, despite the brunette’s harsh comment, Dash still offered a small wave to the taller, pushing himself up from where he’d been leaning against the wall, stepping far too close for Marshall’s comfort- as usual, he noted- giving the younger a smug grin. “What? Can’t I just be happy to see my two best pals?” He questioned, patronisingly, sarcasm practically oozing from his words. Ignoring the older boys’ bickering, Simon smiled up at dash. “Yeah, um, why are you so happy?” he asked softly.

“Well,” Dash began, brushing a strand of his ashen hair from his eyes “It seems that I’ve managed to score myself some new fixtures for ye old’ mill.” He spoke, that ever-present smirk of his remaining.

“Ugh, god, please don’t tell me that you took some old lady’s sofa, or something,” Marshall complained, only to be struck by that same puppy-dog look from Simon. Clearing his throat, the brunette then corrected himself. “Sorry. I, uh... how’d you get a hold of It?” Simon, now pleased with his friend’s rewording, smiled reassuringly. “Well, since you asked me ever so nicely- I’ll let you know, slick.” The two younger boys looked up at Dash expectantly before letting out an impatient “So?” in unison. “I got a job! I am planning on, uh... doing some home renovation and such. Cleaning up my act, y’know?” he asked rhetorically, itching the back of his neck in that all telling way that Dash X did whenever he was nervous about being honest- just one of the many things that Marshall had noted said grey-haired fiend had a reoccurrence of doing. “Holy crap, you’re for real?” Marshall asked, brows raised in surprise.  
“Yeah, dash! Holy crap, that’s awesome!” Simon echoed, earning a sharp look as If to say, ‘I’ll let you off this time.’

“Dash, that’s- I’m- I’m really glad you’re doing this for yourself.” The brunette said, struggling to avoid the warm smile tugging at his lips when dash had flashed him a look of surprise. ‘Yeah. Myself.’ He had wanted to say out loud in protest to Teller’s words. Though, upon noticing how genuine he was being, Dash was finding It quite hard to make any kind of rude remark or comment. Instead, he simply let out a small “Yeah, well, whatever. I’m a big kid now. Gotta start treating myself like a real person, all that junk.” The boy explained, a smile shining through his words. “Anyway, uh, how ‘bout some drinks? Can probably cut you a discount- not like Radford’d notice It. I don’t know If you can tell, but he’s never exactly been the brightest.”

Marshall was still wide-eyed, his shock remaining, only breaking from his train of thought once Simon tugged lightly at his arm. “Mars?” he questioned, his voice filled by an innocence that only Simon could possess, even in his early teens. Marshall was quickly brought back to the reality of things, biting his lip lightly before giving Dash a small nod and following the pair into the store.

Maybe dash really was changing. Or maybe he never could. One thing that Marshall knew for sure, though? He was going to stay alert. After all, this was Dash.

-

The three boys spent the rest of the day hanging out. No weirdness, no investigating, just them and Eerie’s absurdly hot weather.  
They’d all been sitting on the grass when Simon stood up. “I’m gonna go get us some more sodas. Mars? Dash?” the two teens nodded in agreement, before dropping back down to the grass. Marshall glanced over at the grey-haired boy; his brows furrowed as they both lay there. “What.” Dash said, more as a statement than question, shifting himself up so that he was leaning on his elbows. “Seriously slick, what?” he asked again, only to be greeted by a look of cynicism. Ah. Great. Dash knew that look. Marshall was thinking. Theorising. “Are you really trying to, like... get better?” the brunette asked, his tone surprisingly soft. Dash met his eyes with a frustrated look, letting out an angered sigh. “I’m really trying, y’know. But it’s really fucking hard when you don’t trust me.”

“Hey.” Marshall began, sternly. “Simon trusts you.” He said, a teasing smile tugging at his lips. Dash only scoffed, flipping his sunglasses back over his eyes and throwing an empty sandwich packet at the taller. “Oh, yeah, and I’m the bad guy here, huh?” he questioned rhetorically, face mirroring Marshall’s smile. The latter was about to argue when Dash spoke up once again. “I’m, uh... I was thinking of things we could do for Simon’s birthday, and... since I’m cleaning ‘n stuff, maybe- maybe we could hold our little get together at my place? Knowing you, though, I bet your mom and dad already have a cake, huh?” It took the taller a couple of moments to process just what his non-associate was saying. “Wait, really? We were just gonna hang out at mine, but...” the brunette trailed off, looking up to see Dash’s anxiety-ridden expression. “-maybe. I’m gonna have to come over first, though. Just to... y’know, check things.” He said, finally. Dash was about to start celebrating when Simon got back juggling six cans of soda.

Dash stood up, taking two of the cans from the red head, stashing one each into his coat pockets. “Well, uh, I better head back. It was... different... today. Thanks for the sodas, Si! I’ll see you later, Slick. 8pm.” The boys tried to respond, but Dash, like usual, had already began walking, mid-sentence. “What’s at 8?” Simon asked, softly.

“Gonna go check out his new decorations and that. Nothing fun, really. I won’t be gone for long, though. Can you cover for me? You’re welcome to stay over, obviously.” Simon responded with a light smile, nodding in response. “It’s ten to, Mars, you should probably go catch up with Dash.” The younger pointed out, handily. “Oh crap, yeah- I keep telling him he needs to get a damn watch... you’ll be okay though, right?” Marshall double-checked, only to be met by another nod. Flashing Simon a quick thumbs-up, the taller then began to head in the direction of the mill, unaware of what’d be there when he arrived. What If this was just another one of Dash’s tricks? He’d just have to wait and see, Marshall figured.

-  
Marshall WAS, in fact, gone for long. It wasn’t long after he’d gotten to the mill that Dash abandoned dusting and rearranging furniture to pull out a mattress. With an exhausted sigh, he flopped back, landing on the old, though surprisingly clean, mock bed. “You ever think about leaving?” The teen asked out of the blue, causing Marshall to look over at his not-friend, briefly rolling his eyes at the elder’s laziness. “Do you ever shut up?” he quipped, rudely. Dash scoffed, gasping in foux shock. “Marshall Teller!” He exclaimed, sitting up from where he lay. “I’m shocked at you, young man!”

“Yeah yeah, okay- no need to oversell It, asshole.” Marshall complained, deadpanning at Dash’s growing smirk. “What do you mean, anyway? Since when do you care about leaving eerie? I thought you were still looking to find out about yourself.” He added, finally responding, although It wasn’t the answer Dash had been looking for.

“You still didn’t answer” the ashen teen mumbled, before standing up, walking over to Marshall, stopping in front of him. The two were close up, as per usual, however It was broken quickly by Dash snatching the duster from the brunette’s hand, returning his eyes back up to where they’d previously been, staring at the taller. “Answer. My. Question.” He said in a hushed voice, though his tone was undeniably harsh.  
“I still think about leaving.” Marshall, reluctantly, announced. Giving an eyeroll and heaving a soft sigh, Dash grabbed a hold of the younger’s arm, pulling him with him outside. Letting go of Marshall’s arm, Dash was met with a scowl. “Oh! You’re the angry one here, yeah?” The latter asked rhetorically, shaking his head in annoyance when Marshall began looking confused.  
“This,” he began, gesturing to the mill. The brunette’s puzzled look only remained, however. Dash face palmed, shoving the other lightly. “You used to hate this place; hated m- hated moving here,” he corrected himself. “but you and Simon, you’re like the... the ghostbusters or some crap like that. You’re a team! Maybe you could just... I don’t know, stay here for him? At least?” Marshall looked down at Dash X in silence, thinking. “You... you two can be really frustrating sometimes, but you’re the only reason that I know even a fraction of what I am. I don’t even know where I’d be right now If I hadn’t met you.”

The brunette raised his brows, looking around to see that a couple of people had switched their bedroom lights on since the pair began their argument- If It could actually be called an argument. “Can we go back inside?” He asked, being met with a reluctant nod as he began heading back towards the mill.

-

Marshall snook back into his room at 2am that evening, a smile attempting to tug at his lips as he, finally, lay down in bed for the night. Despite this, however, he was conflicted. After hours of talking with the older, there was still only one thing on Marshall Teller’s mind when It came down to that night at the mill.

‘I don’t even know where I’d be right now If I hadn’t met you.’


End file.
